> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.hydravision.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.hydravision.ai/products/online-setfile-builder/managing-setfiles-with-osb.md).

# Managing setfiles with OSB

Configure, save and manage your setfiles like a pro

Traditionally EA setfiles are configured in the MT5 Terminal. For complex EAs such as Hydra Vision, the MT5 interface can introduce a wide range of challenges, not least of which is the trader having to read lengthy user guides, or substitute learning with in terminal over optimization strategies to find working configurations.

{% hint style="info" %}
Setfiles typically end up as a mess over time, with dozens of files featuring convoluted names to describe the settings for reference. OSB alleviates this and goes a few steps further. We understand change can take time. OSB is not for everyday fast testing iterations, but we encourage you to save your setfiles to OSB, your future self will thank you!
{% endhint %}

What OSB seeks to solve is:

### Annotation and clarity of the configuration

Setfiles have a purpose, a defined configuration of inputs that provide settings to an EA for execution. Often, the purpose of a setfile is lost or ambiguously described in the setfile name using concatenated abbreviations.

Saved setfiles in OSB can be simply annotated, ensuring the setfiles underlying strategy and purpose is documented in human readable form ensuring no misunderstanding on why the setfile was configured. Setfile notes can be searched, meaning the trader can use a common set of tags or abbreviations in the notes to build associations.

### Configuration Fingerprints

Every setfile version saved in OSB carries two Fingerprints, one for each layer of settings: the **Strategy Print** for Strategy settings and the **Tuning Print** for Tuning settings. See [Hydra Fingerprints](/products/hydra-fingerprints/hydra-fingerprints.md) for how the prints are formed and used.

Strategy settings are those that are deemed to be of highest importance and unambiguous. They are all either an enumerator or a boolean, as these are definitive in their results. For example, switching a trading session on or off is a Strategy setting, while the 6 session start and end times are Tuning settings. Every Strategy setting is denoted clearly in OSB next to the input with a <mark style="color:$danger;">`SP`</mark> label.

Tuning settings shape a strategy. Something like starting volume or a maximum threshold are candidates for these.

A third group of settings, such as your Private Key, broker details and display colours, describe your terminal rather than your trading, and are in neither print.

Later, when a backtest is run in MT5 with Export Backtest Report enabled, the two Fingerprints are generated from the settings the EA ran with and travel with the export, along with a reference of every setting covered by either print. When the report is imported, the prints are matched against your saved setfile versions to link that specific backtest to a setfile, ensuring you always have a configuration reference for a backtest. If no setfile in OSB matches, one can be rebuilt from the report's settings reference with **Generate setfile**. The Fingerprints themselves cannot be reversed into settings, and settings in neither print are taken from your most recent setfile version or the EA defaults.

### Version control with lightweight diffing

Version control is not easy to accomplish natively in MT5. A sprawling mass of .set files build up in the terminal folders, with little ability to distinguish one from another, and virtually no way to relate or diff the configurations.

OSB incorporates integrated version control, allowing the trader to adjust a master setfile and not lose track of the base configuration. Compare two setfiles side by side, with differences clearly highlighted. New versions may be for different assets, brokers or strategy tweaks, whatever versioning approach makes sense.

### Terminal and broker agnostic settings

Setfiles are stored out of the MT5 terminal folders, so they can be used across any terminal easily without having to create and maintain multiple copies. Tweaking setfiles for a specific broker becomes a menial task, not a management headache.

### Rule and constraint aware inputs

Perhaps the largest missing function in MT5, is the inability to understand how inputs are related. Some EAs are designed to catch these as mis-configuration exceptions during initialization (some do nothing), but this does not resolve a trader understanding how one input relates to another, or even what the rules of the configuration are.

Whilst our help is comprehensive, OSB features built in rules and constraints, with inline context help, making configuration faster, more efficient and safer. View setfiles in a format that is not just a wall of 100+ unrelated settings.

* Disabled a master setting, and all the slaves turn off with it
* Adjust an enumerator, and the related slave settings adjust
* Input a value that is wrong, and know immediately
* Hide/Disable settings that are not required

### Setfile Advisor

The Setfile Advisor panel is automatically loaded to the right of the Setfile Editor. It can be disabled if required.

The Advisor provides additional insight on the traders configuration by monitoring the known rules and constraints. It works to ensure the setfile is compliant with the rules, and not that the configured strategy is safe or profitable.

There are 3 main categories the Advisor reports against:

1. **Needs Attention** - These are named inputs where the current value is in breach of the rules. Strongly advisable to change the value, or understand the implications of retaining.
2. **Worth Knowing** - An advisory panel highlighting aspects of the current configuration that should be acknowledged. Often when configuring a more advanced Strategy this information will display.
3. **Not in play** - Settings which may have been set but will not be used. This is more of an FYI, that you have configured an input, but with the current other settings, these will not be used by the EA.

### Guided Setup

Every Hydra Version is accompanied with Guided Setup. A set of 13 questions to ensure the foundation is laid for the chosen EA configuration. Once done, the trader is advised what still needs to be configured before the .set file can be exported and used on MT5.

It is important to note, Guided Setup is intended to design around a Strategy and not to built to profit or risk profiles. It does not take into account the Asset, Capital, Account Type or any other such factors which require manual configuration.

### OSB versus MT5 configuration

<table data-header-hidden="false" data-header-sticky data-search="false"><thead><tr><th>Platform</th><th>Hydra Vision OSB</th><th>Metatrader 5</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>New setfile</td><td>One click (uses defaults)</td><td>One click (uses defaults)</td></tr><tr><td>UI Layout</td><td>Tabbed by category</td><td>Single list</td></tr><tr><td>Save setfile</td><td>Save to Strategy Folder</td><td>Save to Folder</td></tr><tr><td>Load setfile</td><td>Load from Strategy Folder</td><td>Load from Folder</td></tr><tr><td>Setfile metadata</td><td>Write notes for references</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>Input help</td><td>Context aware help</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>Conditional rules</td><td>Disable irrelevant inputs</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>Constraints</td><td>Guidance on expected values</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>Input inter-dependency</td><td>Related input aware</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>Fingerprints</td><td>Strategy Print and Tuning Print</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>Long term benefits</td><td>Categorized and annotated</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>Customer Support</td><td>Easy review of configurations</td><td>Share .set file over email</td></tr><tr><td>Guided configuration</td><td>Wizard builder</td><td>-</td></tr></tbody></table>